1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a process for producing an extract of oak aged alcoholic products, e.g., a mature oak aged alcoholic beverage or accelerated oak aged alcoholic products, and to the product of such a process. The invention is also directed to accelerated oak aged alcoholic products and to a method of producing thereof.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Typically and traditionally, the production of mature oak aged alcoholic beverages suitable for human consumption, such as whisky, bourbon, scotch, rum or tequila, includes the steps of fermentation, distillation, e.g., in a still, and then aging in oak barrels at natural ambient conditions for a suitable period of time, e.g., 3 to 8 years or longer.
When mature oak aged alcoholic beverages are exported to foreign countries, substantial transportation costs are incurred because of the cost of transporting 50-60% of water and 40-50% ethanol. Furthermore, substantial excise tax is also paid for the exportation of such alcoholic beverages due to their high alcoholic content.
Attempts have been made in the past to address some of the above problems. It has been attempted to produce, from less expensive alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages of superior taste, simulating that of mature oak aged alcoholic beverages. For example, several whisky flavors have been available on the market, offered by several flavor companies. These flavors contain natural and synthetic flavors which are then added back to a relatively inexpensive whisky or other sources of inexpensive alcohol to enhance the whisky flavor thereof. However, such flavors, generally speaking, fall short of being able to provide a relatively inexpensive whisky or spirit with the flavor characteristics of a mature oak aged alcoholic beverage.
Thus, a need still exists for an extract of oak aged alcoholic products which can be added to a less expensive alcoholic beverage, such as grain neutral spirits or cane neutral spirits, to produce an alcoholic beverage having substantially the same taste and other characteristics as a mature oak aged alcoholic beverage.
It is one object of the present invention to provide an extract made from a mature oak aged alcoholic beverage which can be added to a less costly alcoholic beverage (than the mature oak aged alcoholic beverage or an accelerated oak aged alcoholic beverage) to produce an alcoholic beverage having substantially the same flavor and other characteristics as the mature oak aged alcoholic beverage.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a process to make accelerated oak aged alcoholic products which are less costly to produce than the mature oak aged alcoholic beverage. The accelerated oak aged alcoholic products may be either an accelerated oak aged alcoholic beverage or an accelerated oak aged alcoholic concentrate. The accelerated oak aged alcoholic beverage has substantially the same flavor and other characteristics as the mature oak aged alcoholic beverage.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an extract made from an accelerated oak aged alcoholic product which can be added to a less costly alcoholic beverage (than the mature oak aged alcoholic beverage or an accelerated oak aged alcoholic beverage) to produce an alcoholic beverage having substantially the same flavor and other characteristics as the mature oak aged alcoholic beverage.
The less costly alcoholic beverage can be grain neutral spirits, sugar beet neutral spirits, sugar cane neutral spirits, or any neutral spirits of a fermented and distilled natural product, a mixture thereof, or similar beverages.
The term xe2x80x9cany neutral spirits of a fermented and distilled natural productxe2x80x9d as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, refers to a product which can be made from any fermented and distilled natural carbohydrate material to produce neutral spirits, as defined in 27 C.F.R. xc2xa75.22, incorporated herein by reference. For example, suitable neutral spirits of a fermented and distilled natural product include neutral spirits made from brandy, neutral spirits made from a fermented whey product and neutral spirits made from similar fermented and distilled natural products.
One embodiment of the invention is directed to processes of producing an extract of a mature oak aged alcoholic beverage (xe2x80x9cextract-producing processesxe2x80x9d). A first extract-producing process utilizes a food grade solvent and a second extract-producing process does not utilize a food grade solvent. The first extract-producing process comprises adding a food grade solvent to the mature oak aged alcoholic beverage and mixing, preferably thoroughly mixing, to produce a mixture of the solvent and the mature oak aged alcoholic beverage. Subsequently, a first layer comprising the food grade solvent, flavors, color, alcohol and a small amount of water, is allowed to separate from a second layer. Then, the first layer is substantially separated from the second layer. The second layer comprises water, residual flavors, residual food grade solvent and alcohol. Subsequently, the food grade solvent is substantially removed from the first layer to produce the extract. At least some of the alcohol may also be removed with the food grade solvent from the first layer. The extract comprises the flavors and the color. The extract may also include other ingredients, such as the food grade solvent, alcohol and a small amount of water.
Another embodiment of the invention is directed to an extract of a mature oak aged alcoholic beverage produced by a process of the invention. The extract is produced by the first extract-producing process or the second extract-producing process. In the first extract-producing process, the extract is produced by adding a food grade solvent to the mature oak aged alcoholic beverage and mixing, preferably thoroughly mixing, to produce a mixture of the solvent and the mature oak aged alcoholic beverage. Subsequently, a first layer comprising the food grade solvent, flavors, color, alcohol, and a small amount of water, is allowed to separate from a second layer. In the next step, the first layer is substantially separated from the second layer. The second layer comprises water, residual flavors, residual food grade solvent and alcohol. Finally, the food grade solvent is substantially removed from the first layer to produce the extract. At least some of the alcohol may also be removed from the first layer with the food grade solvent. Thus, the extract comprises the flavors and the color. The extract may also include other ingredients, such as the food grade solvent and alcohol, and a small amount of water.
Yet another embodiment of the invention is directed to an accelerated whisky maturation method (or an xe2x80x9caccelerated oak aged alcoholic products maturation methodxe2x80x9d) comprising combining an alcoholic distillate with toasted oak chips to provide a mixture of the alcoholic distillate and the toasted oak chips, heating and oxygenating and/or aerating the mixture for about 5-about 40 days, and removing the oak chips.
An additional embodiment of the invention is directed to processes for producing an extract of an accelerated oak aged alcoholic product, made by the accelerated whisky maturation method. The first extract-producing process utilizes a food grade solvent and a second extract-producing process does not utilize a food grade solvent. The first extract-producing process comprises adding a food grade solvent to the accelerated oak aged alcoholic product and mixing the ingredients to produce a mixture of the solvent and the accelerated oak aged alcoholic product. A first layer, comprising the food grade solvent, flavors, color, alcohol, and a small amount of water, is allowed to separate from a second layer (comprising water, residual flavors, residual food grade solvent and alcohol), and the first layer is substantially separated from the second layer. Then, the food grade solvent is substantially removed from the first layer to produce the extract. At least some of the alcohol from the first layer may also be removed with the food grade solvent. The extract comprises the flavors and the color, but it may also include other ingredients, such as the food grade solvent and alcohol and a small amount of water.
Another embodiment of the invention is directed to an accelerated oak aged alcoholic product produced by a method comprising combining an alcoholic distillate with toasted oak chips to provide a mixture of the alcoholic distillate and the toasted oak chips, heating and oxygenating and/or aerating the mixture for about 5-about 40 days, and removing the oak chips.
Yet another additional embodiment is directed to an extract of an accelerated oak aged alcoholic product. The extract is produced by a first extract-producing process utilizing a food grade solvent or by a second extract-producing process which does utilize a food grade solvent. The first extract producing process comprises adding a food grade solvent to the accelerated oak aged alcoholic product and mixing the ingredients to produce a mixture of the solvent and the accelerated oak aged alcoholic product. A first layer comprising the food grade solvent, flavors, color, alcohol, and a small amount of water, is allowed to separate from a second layer. The first layer is then substantially separated from the second layer, which comprises water, residual flavors, residual food grade solvent and alcohol. Subsequently, the food grade solvent is substantially removed from the first layer to produce the extract. At least some of the alcohol may also be removed from the first layer with the food grade solvent. The extract thus comprises the flavors and color. The extract may also include other ingredients, such as the food grade solvent and alcohol and a small amount of water.
The second extract-producing process includes a first sub-embodiment and a second sub-embodiment. The first and the second sub-embodiments can be used to make an extract from an oak aged alcoholic product, which may include a mature oak aged alcoholic beverage and an accelerated oak aged alcoholic product.
The following summary of the first and second sub-embodiments with the oak aged alcoholic product is equally applicable to the use of these sub-embodiments with the mature oak aged alcoholic beverage or any of the accelerated oak aged alcoholic product or products.
The first sub-embodiment comprises a process for producing an extract of an oak aged alcoholic product which has a proof of about 80 to about 120, and which includes water, alcohol, color, flavors and wood notes. This process comprises:
(i) removing from the oak aged alcoholic product at least some of the wood notes and color to produce an intermediate product;
(ii) substantially removing from the intermediate product water and alcohol to produce the extract.
The second sub-embodiment comprises a process for producing an extract of an oak aged alcoholic product which has a proof of about 80 to about 120, and which includes water, alcohol, color, flavors and wood notes. This process comprises:
(i) removing from the oak aged alcoholic product at least some of the wood notes and color to produce an intermediate product;
(ii) adjusting proof of the intermediate product to about 50-about 120xc2x0; and
(iii) substantially removing from the intermediate product water and alcohol to product the extract.
The process and product of the invention directed to the extract and its production provide significant advantages. The extract has substantially cheaper transportation costs than the mature oak aged alcoholic beverage. Furthermore, the extract is not likely to be subjected to excessive excise taxes normally charged upon importation of oak aged alcoholic products, such as mature oak aged alcoholic beverages. As a result, the extract can be economically imported into many different foreign countries where it can be added to the specific country""s predominant spirit, to produce alcoholic beverages having substantially the same taste and other characteristics as the mature oak aged alcoholic beverages.
The accelerated whisky maturation method of the invention and the product(s) thereof also provide significant advantages. They provide a relatively inexpensive method of aging whisky without losses usually associated with conventional methods of aging whisky, and without tying up financial resources in inventory.